Visual supports

Also called Visual aids, Visual strategies, Visual cues, Visual prompts

The general term for pictures, symbols, objects and written words used to help a person understand what is happening and what is expected.

What it is

Visual supports is the umbrella term for anything visual that helps a person understand: a picture timetable on the wall, a now-and-next board, a symbol on the toilet door, a written list of the steps to get dressed, a photo of who is coming today, a countdown timer, a colour-coded tray. They are used for understanding, not, in the first place, for speaking, which is what separates them from a communication board.

The reason they matter is that spoken words vanish the instant they are said, and a person who processes language slowly, or who is anxious, or who cannot hold three instructions in mind, is left with nothing. A visual support stays. It can be looked at again, it does not change its tone, and it does not need the adult to be there.

The term is broad on purpose. Objects of reference, visual timetables, now and next, social stories and choice boards are all visual supports, and each has its own entry.

Who it can help

Autistic children and adults are the classic case, and the National Autistic Society has made visual supports the first recommendation for most families for good reason: predictability reduces anxiety, and a picture of what comes next is predictability you can hold. They help people with a learning disability, people with dementia in a care home where a sign on the bathroom door prevents a great deal of distress, people with ADHD who lose the thread of a sequence, children with developmental language disorder, and every child in an early years class.

They do not help if they are wallpaper. A timetable nobody refers to, a symbol that is never pointed at, a set of rules on a laminated sheet that the adults do not follow: those are decoration. A visual support works when an adult uses it, with the person, at the moment it applies.

How it works

The support shows the person the information instead of, or as well as, telling them. A timetable makes the day visible; a now-and-next makes the immediate future visible; a task strip makes the steps visible; a rule card makes the expectation visible; a choice board makes the options visible. The adult points to the support as they speak, and returns to it when the person is unsure.

Format follows the person: objects for someone who does not yet read pictures, photographs for someone who needs the real thing, symbols for most, written words for readers. The level should be the one the person understands when stressed, not the one they manage when calm.

Supports should be portable and present. A timetable in the classroom does not help at the swimming pool; the small version in the bag does. And the support should be changed when reality changes, visibly, so the person learns that the picture is trustworthy.

Getting started

Start with one. The point in the day that goes worst, most days, is the place to put a now-and-next board or a short task strip, and to use it every day for a fortnight before judging.

Make it from what you have: photographs on a phone, symbols from a free set such as ARASAAC, or the person's own drawings. Laminate if you can, and keep a spare. Show the person the support, say what it says, and point to it again when the moment comes.

Then match home and school. Ask what symbols and formats the school uses and copy them, and give the school a photograph of what you use at home. The person should meet the same picture in both places.

Where to get help

The National Autistic Society has clear guidance on visual supports for families and schools. Speech and Language UK for children with language needs. Ambitious about Autism for autistic young people, and the Alzheimer's Society for visual supports and signage in dementia. Your speech and language therapist or the school's SENCO can help you choose the format, via referring to speech and language therapy.